Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots
by judasuu
Summary: What if Liquid Ocelot was actually... or more rather, what if Liquid Ocelot IS Liquid Snake possessing Ocelot...? A remake of MGS4 with the main antagonist being really Liquid himself. New plot, some at least, and the plot itself won't be entirely different. Only different turn of events. Try to eye out if you can enjoy.


**Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any.**

...Nomad, Kitchen...

"Only two eggs today? Solidus must have taken the day off. 7892590360... 3305305... 4882046652..." Sunny is cooking eggs here in this not-so-large kitchen of the plane that is being used as a base of operation by the members of Philanthropy.

...Meanwhile, at the interior below...

Campbell is here talking some info with Snake- Solid Snake, but... Perhaps "Old Snake" would be fitting now considering he's now at old age... Anyway, Campbell is talking with Old Snake about a familiar adversary in the past... Liquid Snake. ...Or to be more precise... Liquid Ocelot. Ocelot, who is supposed to be the body of Liquid Ocelot, is now nothing more but a vessel for Liquid to take control. And once again, he is scheming to overcome his fate of being "inferior" in compare to his own clone brother, Solid- Old Snake. "The Manhattan incident triggered a serious public backlash. Now the US has to think twice before intervening militarily in other countries' affairs. This has fueled a push towards military privatization, with PMCs at the heart of that movement."

Snake is having a smoke as he listens to Campbell. "PMCs...Private Military Companies."

"That's right. PMCs have no basis in nations or ideologies. They are private enterprises, driven by profit. In addition to dispatching mercenaries to war zones, they secure weapons and train local soldiers. They're contractors for war itself, and business is good. Their clientele includes developed nations like the US, rebel factions looking to seize power by force... Smaller countries lacking armies of their own... Even terrorist groups. They're in the Americas, Asia, the South Pacific, Europe, Africa, the Middle East... The rise of the PMC has spawned a war by proxy, and it's spreading across the globe." As the briefing continues, Sunny comes down from the kitchen with a plate of eggs on hand. Otacon is by the computer where he normally spends his time the entire day and he's testing the new invention-gadget to be precise-as a way to help Snake in his mission that is coming. The newest Metal Gear of the century- Metal Gear Mark II- and probably the only thing that can be constructed at the hands of a genius like Otacon "Hal" Emmerich. ...Actually, it's Hal "Otacon" Emmerich but Snake keeps referring to him as "Otacon" so Otacon has rather become fond of the name since it's referring to his nature as an mecha anime otaku.

"They, they're..." Sunny offered the eggs to Otacon who is still testing the Mark II.

"Sunny, we'll eat them later, OK?" Otacon said which sounded cold for Sunny.

"Every age has its mercenary. These PMCs are nothing new - we've been dealing with them since before the turn of the century." Snake said blowing smoke.

"H-Hey..." Sunny has noticed it and Snake has realized that he's in for another scolding. "Snake, you are smoking again, aren't you? This is non-smoking flight!" She took the cigarette from him after putting down the plate of eggs. She also said the last part with a pointed finger which made both Otacon and Campbell chuckle halfly."You're not watching your nicotine intake!" Sunny made her way back to her private sanctuary- The kitchen upstairs.

Psyche gauge dropped a bit...

After chuckling for a bit Campbell decided to fill in more info for Snake. "The Pentagon's new battlefield control system has produced a decisive difference... Between hired guns and the PMCs of today. The system was developed by ArmsTech Security."

"ArmsTech? You mean AT Corp?"

"That's right. And as a result, the global presence of PMCs has grown explosively. Truth is, the rise of system-controlled PMCs has led to a dramatic decline in civilian casualties and human rights violations on the battlefield. In recent years, AT Corp has shifted focus from weapons development to security tools. And since the establishment of AT Security, business has been booming. The system makes it possible to integrate not only micro-level information on individual soldiers and units, but also macro-level information about field conditions and order of battle."

"So, they've finally achieved total real-time battlefield control huh?"

"A cleaner, safer battlefield. The more things get uptight the more it will be secured and... controlled." Campbell walked up to the screen to show the details on a war field ground...

...**Act**.**1**: **Liquid Sun**...

"...War has changed. It's no longer about nations, ideologies, or ethnicity. It's an endless series of proxy battles fought by mercenaries and machines. War - and its consumption of life - has become a well-oiled machine." Snake, under the disguise of a militiaman, is on a transport truck along with some other militiamen who are to be deployed in the city here in the Middle-East. "War has changed. The age of deterrence has become the age of control... All in the name of averting catastrophe from weapons of mass destruction. And he who controls the battlefield... Controls history." Everyone arrived at an area that is under siege. Everyone went off-board the transport truck and begun their attack... futile attack as the enemy seems to be well-prepared for their arrival and a lot of militiaman has been shot almost immediately after going off-board the truck. "War has changed. When the battlefield is under total control... ...War becomes routine."

Snake took off from the truck and begun firing but then his gun suddenly stopped firing bullets which puzzled him. He finds out that the trigger is jammed so he has no choice but to drop it. He decided to rely on his CQC knife for a while.

"Snake, crawl behind the truck. That's where you can start out." Otacon said in his codec.

Snake does so and then he quickly rolled over to the side to prevent getting shot like the rest of these guys who just keep firing at the PMCs' open field where some PMC soldiers are using the building as a barricade and a shield for them to not get shot. These militiamen however keeps firing on the open ground where they are like target practices for the PMC soldiers to gun down.

Snake ran along with some few guys who decided to attack at the side and from the rear side where there isn't much of a gunfight. The PMCs seem to have predicted this and started gunning them down one by one. Snake took cover behind a set of crates for safety and protection. He has his knife in hand just in case a close quarter combat is necessary.

"Snake, I'm picking some signals there. Almost like... oh no..." Otacon contacted him again by codec.

Just then, all of the PMCs left the area and... The sound of cows and cicagas echoed which made everyone who is still alive nervous. And then without warning... _Stomp! Stomp! _Gekko, a two legged, biomechanical weapon machine, has been sent on the area. They started killing the militiamen as they try in a futile attempt to fend them off. The Gekko however, is not damageable to some bullets that are fired from some light weapons and especially if they are a bunch of weapons that are... _click, click, click. _Suddenly, the militiamen couldn't fire their weapons anymore.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?" With their weapon disabled, the Gekko are...

...they started gunning them down while the rest were brutally slaughtered with their flexible legs which seems to be their weakness.

Snake has witnessed the carnage and he sees that he's the only one who is still alive in this field. He decided to take cover from behind the buildings. "Snake, the System has been hijacked, no, wait, it's..."

"What is it?" Snake asked Otacon by codec.

"It's... It's the Patriots! They shut down their weapons and now the militia is now powerless."

"Great, now what do I do?"

"Head north. And... try not to run in any Gekko along the way."

"No question there." Snake started sneaking about at the side while avoiding any Gekko but... one Gekko is hanging in-between two buildings above and spotted Snake as someone who has thermal heat so...

_scowwwll...! _

With that cow-like sound echoing... Snake has realized that he's in trouble after looking above him. "Gr," _shot, shot, bang, bang! _He started firing at the Gekko above with the gun he picked up from a dead militiaman a while earlier. The bullets didn't pierced the Gekko however, it started shooting at Snake which made him run for cover inside a building where he is safe for a while. He then decided to have a smoke for a while and he took notice that the magazine is running low.

_scoowwell...! Shatter-! _One Gekko busted through the wall which took Snake by surprise. His cloak was removed by one of the flexible legs of the Gekko. So much for remaining disguised. Now there's no choice but... "Huh." He activated the stealth camo that was provided by Otacon before the mission.

"Snake, hurry! I'm waiting for you with the mark II on the way! Hurry!"

"I'm on my way!" Snake climbed up the stairway. _Shot, shot, bang, bang! _While a Gekko is giving pursuit. It should be noted that the stealth camo doesn't help much with the Gekko around. To human eyes, it can be effective of not being seen but to Gekko's sensor... not reliable so...

_scoowwell! _Snake's right leg got caught by a wire that is extended out by the Gekko that is in pursuit.

"Gr, guagh!" _Shot, shot, shot, bang, bang, bang! _Snake fired at the Gekko as a way to fend it off but like the militiamen, he couldn't put a dent on it. Luckily, the stairway collapsed due to heavy weight and Snake was able to break free. Then another Gekko is giving pursuit on the other side of the building. Seeing that stealth camo doesn't work, Snake decided to use octocamo to prevent himself from being detected. The two Gekko managed to climb up to where Snake is but their sensors couldn't pick up anything with thermal heat.

They did picked up Snake's cigarette which he dumped earlier though since it's giving his position away. They then spotted a cardboard box with some watermellons on it. The Gekko picked up its traces on the sensor and thought of stomping it.

_Scoowwel!_

_Scoowwel! _

_SMASH-! _...The watermellons are destroyed... what a waste of food.

The Gekko examined the area and could not find Snake so they concluded that there's no more living, breathing soldiers about so they left while jumping through each buildings.

One watermelon rolled down on Snake's leg which is also disguised thanks to the octocamo suit. By the way, his suit just mimicked the color of the watermelon on the leg part. Snake stood up since there are no more danger. He picked up the cigarette that was picked up by the Gekko earlier and then it throwed it at his direction which he viewed as an insult for him and the cigarette. Snake viewed the horizon from here and he decided to climb down to the ground on an alleyway where he can take cover and could talk with Otacon.

"This is Snake. Do you read me?"

"What's the situation?"

"I'm inside the city limits. This place's crawling with lizards."

"Ah, AT Corp's unmanned bipedal weapons. Officially designated "Irving" by the US military. They've spread like wildfire among the PMCs. There are more of those things now in service than tanks. They've got tough armor plating and are highly agile to boot. Your best bet is to stay out of their sights."

"Unmanned... Pretty soon they'll have put living, breathing soldiers out of work."

"Even so, that's an awful lot of Gekko for this scenario. Their numbers exceed the war price for that region. It must have something to do with Liquid's arrival on the scene."

"You really think he's here..."

"You'll have to find the Army's operatives and ask them yourself. Oh, and Snake? I went ahead and used the to scout out the area before your arrival. You'll find it up ahead."

" ?"

"It's a remote mobile terminal. Sunny and I built it. The will provide you with a map of the area as well as any battle situation data."

"Okay, I'll see there."

"The rendezvous point is marked on your map. I'll be waiting for you there. Oh, and did you already used the solid eye I..."

"Hm, about to."

"You haven't used it yet? Geez, give me a break. You could have avoided all the trouble you know."

"You never told me how to use it."

"_Sigh, _isn't it already obvious? Just put it in your left eye and you can use it in any way you want to. Either way, there's a soliton radar on it. Use it to get around."

Otacon signed off.

Snake continued to proceed in the street where some PMCs are assigned to patrol. To make things more easier, and to support his now already wrinkled body, he decided to use the stealth camo to make things more easier from here on out. He has to make sure that he doesn't use it very long as the stealth camo won't last for after a very long period of time, about 20 minutes would be the longest time period of its activation. Some stryker arrived at the scene and a group of PMC platoon went off to different location to ensure that the perimeter is secured. Snake decided not to conceal himself in broad daylight with the stealth camo since there is also some indications that might appeared should he expose himself into sunlight. Indications of his presence that is.

Anyway, he went to an abandoned building where he can lay low for a bit since the fighting outside is getting more and more intense. Snake hid behind the wall where a window is near, he checked out what is happening and it seems like the militia is now running offensive as more transport trucks arrived at the scene. Then something caught Snake's ear, it sounds like a wheel that is small and it's heading his way... "Hm?"

Snake pointed his gun at it as it slowly made its way towards him... "It's me, Snake. Snake, it's me!"

Otacon is being shown on the miniature screen that is on its right side. "Huh? Otacon?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Snake. Allow me to introduce Metal Gear ."

"Metal Gear...? Mark II?"

"That's right. Just like REX."

Ah yes, REX... as in Metal Gear REX. Otacon's proud and joy... and shame. Or at least it was in the past since REX was used for evil purpose.

"But this Gear's not a weapon. It's a remote mobile terminal designed to provide you with operational support." It started moving as a way to show its capability to Snake. Otacon seems to be controlling it from the Nomad with his computer as well as using a PS3 controller.

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the Nomad, where else? I'll be watching you through the ."

"Huh, wish I was good with gadgets."

"Hey, I'll be with you in spirit. Anyway, because you had to dress up as a militiaman, I had the bring you some goodies." The interior front of the opened up. And then a wire that seems to be almost similar to that of the Gekko's wire extended out to grab a few weapons inside. "Snake... I know this is a sneaking mission, but you'll need to protect yourself. That's why I brought these." The brought out an operator and laid it on the ground.

"An operator."

"I installed a suppressor. It predates the implementation of the System. By some miracle, it was never recycled. It's getting tough these days, finding decent guns that aren't controlled. And here's a tranquilizer gun." Another pistol gun is laid on the ground, an harmless one.

"How thoughtful." Snake grabbed the tranquilizer gun and put it behind him as he examined the operator by testing out if the trigger can be clicked. It seems to be in decent shape. The sound of war echoed outside which made both Snake and Otacon, via the , shake. Snake then decided to move out before something or someone finds him here. He turned to the . "You coming?"

"Of course. I'll follow you wherever you go. Like this. I'll activate stealth so it doesn't attract any attention." The demonstrated its stealth capability just like the stealth camo.

"Huh, you also installed your own stealth camo on it, huh. You never lost that for one second huh?"

"Of course. I can't go around sneaking like you do, anyway, Snake, the informants who said they saw Liquid here should be a little farther up. Head for the rendezvous point. I've placed a mark on the radar in the upper right corner of the Solid Eye. It's a war zone out there. Stay on your toes." Both the and Snake activated their stealth camo. Well, in the 's case its stealth capability. Both of them decided to set out to the battlefield without being detected by the PMCs as well as the militiamen. Snake did took out some PMC soldiers as a favor for the militia but he cannot afford to expose himself to them. So he simply passed by them along with the and they passed by their underground base where most of them have been housed since most of them have been injured.

Snake activated the night vision mode of the solid eye while his stealth camo is still active. ...It won't last long though, the same can be said about the . So they decided to rest at the side until things settle down. It seems the militia has taken notice that someone has been aiding them with the PMCs but they can't find whoever that is so they concluded that whoever that is, Snake that is, is on their side. After resting for a bit, Snake and the continued on their journey.

At the end of the base is an APC that is stored at the last room. Snake stumbled upon it and he saw an M4 lying on the ground with, strangely enough, a monkey sitting there drinking soda.

Snake pointed his gun at it but it seems to be unfazed. The monkey didn't seem to mind his presence.

Snake slowly reached out for the M4 until... "Pretty sweet, huh?" A voice said all of the sudden which made Snake jumped a bit. He turned to some guy who is black and is dressed in a shirt with a tie and a military pants. "Whoa, hold it! Watch where you're pointing that thing." He said waving one piece of cloth.

"Who are you?" Snake asked with a gun pointed at the guy.

"Neither enemy, nor friend. Just a messenger for both sides." He said waving his white cloth and after covering his hand... "Voila." ...a grenade appeared.

"You're not with the militia, and you're not PMC..."

"I'm a weapons wholesaler - all shapes, all sizes. But there's no need to worry, 'cause all my shit's been laundered." He said covering the grenade and then it was gone, in its place is an apple.

"Laundered?"

Snake didn't bother to turn his gun around. The guy who claims he's a weapons wholesaler then rubbed the apple on his elbow. He seems to be dissatisfied for some reason. He tossed the apple behind. "You see, I take ID guns like the PMCs use and make some mods. Then you can use 'em without having to match IDs. In other words, I'm a gun launderer. You can call me Drebin."

"Drebin?"

The monkey chased the apple that was tossed to the ground and played with it. "Yeah, they use that for all of us."

"There are more of you?" Drebin nodded and waved his hands upward.

"All over the world. Not that I ever met any of 'em personally. Me, I'm Drebin number 893. You ain't a registered PMC employee, are ya? You need a guy like me." Drebin picked up the M4 that is lying on the ground and handed it to Snake. "Consider it a welcoming gift. Take it."

"..." Snake grabbed the gun slowly... and... nothing. Drebin didn't made any move and seems to be more than willing to give it to Snake. Snake examined the gun to ensure no safety locks is detected or is in active. Drebin is walking about as if expecting some comments from Snake.

"The M4. The official carbine model used by the US army... Developed from the M16 service rifle. This one's a top-of-the-line model. Real popular with the big PMCs. High precision, not like that government-issue shit. It's free-floating, of course. Relax, that barrel's clean."

"Is the hider CQC compatible?" Snake asked as he opened the ammunition part to ensure if it's durable and it's capable of being aimed properly.

"The beauty of this sucker is that it's got a lot of customizable parts. Change it up the way you want to meet your everyday needs."

"Flip-up sight, rail system... Not bad." Snake seems to be assured of its capability.

"Yeah, well, you know, I get a lot of newbs 'round here. And if you need 'em, I got a wide selection of after-market parts as well. Go ahead, give her a squeeze." Snake pointed the gun at a direction. _click, click, click... _

"Hm? I can't pull the trigger." He said as if his finger is hesitating... nanomachines it seems. A lot of soldiers got them... and some who are not also soldiers got them.

"Really? That's weird."

"What's weird?"

"Wait, I got it. I bet you're using an older generation of nanomachines." Drebin keeps walking about as he examined Snake thoroughly.

"Older generation?"

"Sometimes they don't really jibe with the new System."

"Seriously, who are you?" Snake is about to reach out for his operator to interrogate Drebin but the latter is unfazed as well as the little monkey guy.

"Whoa, slow down." Drebin picked up a soda from a bucket of ice. He begun to burp all of the sudden. "My day job's working at AT (ArmsTech) Security. I'm in charge of production control... So I get my hands on the ID chips," He offered the soda to Snake to which he shook his head in denial. "before they're even registered."

So instead of Snake being offered a sip, the little monkey guy decided to have a sip of his own as Drebin gave the soda to him.

"It's a side of AT the public don't see. From the looks of it, you ain't with any state army. But you ain't exactly green, neither. You've got last-gen nanomachines. So I'm guessing... Former US Army? I don't know what you're here for. But you'll wanna be well-equipped, am I right? So? Can we talk business or what? You won't regret it." Drebin turned to the which is taken by surprise and it hid to the side. "Haha, relax. Your little buddy there could get along with Little Gray here, haha." Drebin shook his ass about as if he's dancing and the monkey, Little Gray, moves towards . It plays with it with its small screen in which Little Gray sees himself in it and he dances at his reflection until Otacon is shown to which it annoyed Little Gray since he cannot see his reflection anymore and it moved to the side following Drebin, much to Otacon's chuckling.

"Interesting fellow, huh Snake?"

"Huh, yeah." Snake reluctantly agreed to Otacon's comment.

...Later, after a brief of explanation of Drebin's dirty business as a gun launderer...

"So... We ready to make a deal, or what? OK, then. Let's talk business. This is a war zone. There's product coming in here by the truckload. And you'll be picking up a lot of guns out in the field, I'm sure. Whatever guns you don't need, I'll take and buy 'em off ya. That'll earn you points you can cash in for services. I'll launder your ID guns - no more locks. And I can also sell you the guns I've got in stock. Let me show you... Oh, but first..." Before Drebin could take Snake at the back of his truck to show him the goods... He brought out a rather intriguing device... a syringe. Meant to suppress nanomachines should they go haywire.

Snake stared at it fascinated until...

"To ensure you can use non-ID guns, I'm gonna have to suppress the old nanomachines you've got in ya. Otherwise, they'll interfere with the System. Here. Stick yourself with this." He said showing it to Snake. "It's full of suppressor nanomachines."

Drebin was about to do the job but then Snake held back his hand with his own.

"Relax. It won't hurt. You scared of needles, or something?"

The monkey made some noise to which Snake simply shook his head and allowed Drebin to do the job... injection. _Tckktch! _

"Gurgh!" Snake felt a little dull pain as Drebin pushed the syringe. Then after injecting him with the suppressor he quickly pulled it back to his pocket.

"See? No sweat. Now you can use non-ID guns, no problem. Hey," Drebin was about to come out of the truck with soda in hand but then Little Gray tried to snatch it. "be nice to our guest." He said. His hand appears to be very nimble in compare to Little Gray. He stepped out of the truck.

"Hm?" Little Gray then offered an apple for Snake. "Boo." He said to him as a gesture then he stepped out of the truck. He grabbed the M4 and loaded it with ammo.

...Later...

_Bang, shoot! _Snake could now pull the trigger of the M4 which made him a little happy. Perhaps too happy.

"There, ya see? No problem. From now on, when you pick up an ID gun that says "LOCKED"... You just let me know. You name it, I can launder it. Of course, it'll cost you. The going rate depends on the war price at the time. All right, then. If you need me, holler. We specialize in speedy service. Catch my drift?" Drebin put his fingertips at the side of his truck, he turned to Snake with a hand gesture. "Eye. Have. You." He said then he entered the truck with Little Gray closing the cockpit, the truck is then turned into invisibility mode... same design as it seems. _Traaachhhtt-! _The truck left. Then Snake stared at it as if things will get more interesting with that guy around.

"Wow, there he goes. Seems like we'll need for the time being." Otacon commented through the 's screen. "We better get going Snake. The informats won't wait for us forever."

Snake agreed and decided to move out as he activated his stealth camo. That Drebin also gave him a clothing that is white and it has a hood that can cover the face. This is similar to his disguise earlier but this clothing is colored white and... something about an "Assassin's Creed" emblem hanging about. Is this... a cosplay outfit? Otacon thought of it as cool so he didn't mind but Snake certainly does. "Hey, Otacon. What's the big deal with this... Assassin's Creed stuff?"

"Huh? You don't know? Snake, Assassin's Creed is affiliated with Kojima's work of sneaking games and-"

"Actually, nevermind. I'll be taking it off later anyway."

"Huh? Snake, don't you want to be-"

"Shut up, I have no time for childish delusions of James Bond." ...He mistook the attire to be that of a Russian spy character.

"Huh? Uh... actually, nevermind. Anyway, it's time to move out." Otacon activated stealth for the for the duration of the mission. Snake and Otacon then made their way around the abandoned building that is on a verge of collapsing. The wall fell too on the process so they made double sure that it's safe by which Otacon would examine the surrounding first then they proceeded onward.

...Later, near the exit...

Snake and Otacon hid behind a wall as a militiaman is patrolling the area outside. Snake has the M4 in hand and both he and Otacon are making sure that they don't get spotted. _Tubbcht, tubbcht! _The drum nearby suddenly moved, which made the militiaman suspicious. "Who's there?" The militiaman asked.

"G-Go away! I'm not done yet!" A voice said inside the drum.

"Huh?" "Huh?" Both Snake and Otacon took a peek.

The militiaman started shaking up the drum and then he pulled it over and turned it over, revealing someone inside with his pants halfway off. "..Uh..."

"..." The militiaman stared at this strange, weird, and idiotic guy for a moment... _...beeerpp... _...gas is released.

"G-Goahugh!"

"Guh! Augh!" Both the militiaman and Snake covered their noses in disgust. "Ah, that stinks. Otacon, you better be here."

"No way in hell." Otacon said through the screen. He seems to be dumbfounded at the situation. Imagine himself being there himself... what a nightmare. "You think I"ll last there for even one second?"

"You've been with me for an hour now."

"I AM here in the Nomad, Snake!" Otacon corrected. Well, he's here... in spirit anyway.

"Uh, haha. Haha, hahaha...! No, no-!"

"Hey, stop! Stop right there!" The mysterious masked man left in a hurry while pulling up his pants as the militiaman gave chase.

"Uh, that was... weird." Otacon said to which Snake nodded in agreement.

...Anyway, both Snake and Otacon decided to move out. Since their stealth camo is capable of projecting illusions again they decided to go north where their contact is waiting.

...Later, at the western side of a camp...

Liquid's name was mentioned by some of the PMCs that Snake encountered. It is said that he is stationed here. Hm, it seems the contact was no longer necessary but... "Hm, this is Liquid's camp. Where is Rat Patrol?" Snake asked Otacon.

"I don't know... They were supposedly-"

"Drop your weapon!"

All of the sudden, the same mysterious masked guy earlier showed up from behind Snake and pointed a gun at him. It seems he's stationed here. Snake and Otacon are hiding behind a wall and when Snake stepped into the camp's field... that's when he showed up from the other side of the wall where Snake is hiding, and Otacon.

"Guaah!" Otacon screamed in panic and surprise at the sudden voice of apprehension.

"..." Snake raised his hands with the Operator on his right. He didn't let go of it until...

"Drop your weapon!" The man said again.

"Alright. Here." He did as instructed.

"E-Easy now." The man said prompting Snake to slowly back away from his weapon. Snake examined him. "D-Don't move."

"...You haven't even taken off the safety yet, rookie."

"Careful. I'm no rookie! I'm a ten year vet!"

"Ah." Snake seems to be rather in disbelief and he tilted his head on his left side then... The man seems to be rather not aware that he's letting his guard down for Snake to make a move. "..." _Swap! _Snake jabbed him on the right shoulder, took his gun and knocked him on the ground with the gun pointed at him this time.

Otacon was impressed. "Guargh!" The man groaned.

"How the hell'd you ever survive ten years?" Snake asked since he seems to be rather very curious as to why this rookie guy is still serving the army. ...Or at least...

"Don't move!" Another voice said. Both Otacon and Snake turned to the right where another masked soldier is aiming a gun at them. Then two large guys appeared in the flank left with rifles aimed at Snake.

Snake prepared himself by kneeling near the guy he knocked down and used his legs to incapacitate him with one leg holding his left arm and the other is placed across his neck. "CQC... You're..." The man said while being incapacitated.

"CQC... Real Big Boss, huh?" The masked soldier said as he approached Snake. ...Wait, is it a she? "Lower your weapon! Slowly now... I wouldn't try anything funny if I were you."

"Huh...?" Snake has noticed an emblem on the soldier's gear. Foxhound. "FOX...?"

"Hm?" Otacon has noticed it too. Oh, since no one has noticed the 's presence, Otacon took advantage and activated stealth so that it doesn't attract notice.

"Snake?"

The masked soldier removed her mask. Revealing her to be none other than... Meryl Silverburgh.

"Meryl?"

"Snake, is that you?" Meryl moved closer to Snake to examine his face. "Wha... What happened to your face?" She attempted to touch Snake's face but he simply turned away, same old topic about being a senior citizen crap, according to Snake.

"Accelerated aging. They don't know the cause."

Snake said while walking to which it made Meryl shocked of the info. "Oh my God."

"Meryl, you're my informant in the US military?"

Snake's partner, the -Otacon- deactivated the stealth camo. Revealing the 's presence to Meryl and her two other... no, wait, three squadmates. The other one is still lying on the ground groaning. Meryl and the two big guys aimed their guns at the .

Snake placed a hand forward to stop them from doing something rush.

Otacon showed himself through the small screen. "Meryl, it's been a long time." He said through it.

"Huh? Dr... Hal Emmerich?" Meryl kneeled before the and stared closely at the screen to see if it's really the same Otacon she knows.

"Yup, it's me. Me and Snake are here to meet you."

"Otacon, why'd you..."

"Hey, Snake, this is our old friend, what's the harm?"

"Hrm," Snake grunted at Otacon suddenly deciding to show himself since he's not happy with this reunion of the three survivors of Shadow Moses Incident since his old age is referred to at first by Meryl.

The other two large guys then moved out to the front and aimed their guns at Snake and Otacon, well, not directly at him but it's aimed towards Snake, and Snake decided to prepare himself and Otacon activated stealth again for safety. ...Though being invisible won't really help here for now. Meryl placed her hand to the side to stop them and to ensure that Snake and Otacon are the contact they've been waiting for...

"Snake, do you have the clearance paper?" Meryl asked. Then she noticed the other masked soldier is still lying on the ground. "Akiba!"

"O-Oh, c-commander-" _Buckbtch! _"Ow!" He got sucker punched as soon as he rose up from the ground. "I'm sorry..." He said walking to the side where he joined the other two squadmates, the two large guys. He seems to be the... comedic one.

Otacon is shown grunting on the screen of the , after it disabled the stealth again, after seeing Akiba like that. "W-Well, anyway, here's the clearance paper." Otacon brought out- The that is- a piece of paper from the interior front of the . Meryl checked it. And she nodded approval. She then joined the other two guys and...

"This is Rat Patrol 01. We're with the CID (Criminal Investigation Command)... One of the bodies investigating PMC activity."

"Geah!"

Akiba joined the group as they strike a pose. Akiba is rather the corny one...

"First hounds, now rats." Snake said to which Otacon nodded. The then activated its stealth again. "Here, sorry about that. You can have this back." Snake tossed back the gun to Akiba. The others dispersed as to return to their duty. Akiba however...

"Grr," He decided to at least show off a bit. _groowwl... _Stomach ache. He held his stomach in pain.

"What is your problem?" Snake asked as the examined Akiba. "Stomach pains?" Akiba nodded. "Diarrhea..."

...Gas is released...

...Later, after some briefing from both sides... in which Snake and Meryl exchanged information with one another...

"When we reported that we'd found Liquid... Our superiors ordered us to provide the UN investigators with intel. But I didn't know it'd be you." Both Snake and Meryl are sitting across each other on a wooden table here just outside the camp of Liquid, according to Meryl's info. It seems some PMCs are guarding the perimeter and Meryl can only watch from afar and the PMCs are rather not aware that Liquid seems to be the one in charge even though he's here as a green collar or something.

"Didn't the colonel tell you he was sending me?"

"Colonel?" ...Snake has just pushed the wrong buttons... "Don't tell me it's Campbell!"

"Yeah."

"He put you up to this?"

"You didn't know?"

"Uh..." Otacon put his hand on his forehead at this development. He knows about the relationship between father and daughter getting strained.

_Slam! _Meryl stood up and punched the table. "You gotta to be kidding! You expect me to work with my uncle!" She throwed the photos on the table off the table.

"Meryl!" Snake scolded her.

Meryl kicked a chair down and punched a nearby pedestal here in the camp. Some birds flew from the scene as a result. "This is bullshit! He's not my father!" Meryl said sobbing a bit with her face lowered on the flat surface of the pedestal.

Some of her squadmates- Okay, all of them are rather surprised at this development. They never saw Meryl to be like this... she's... childish. "Commander..." Akiba, who is inspecting the perimeter with a scope, seems to be the most affected.

"Meryl..." Snake said.

Meryl calmed down and picked up the chair and put it to where it was and how it was standing earlier. She sat down.

"So... you knew?"

"Yeah. A little violation of the need-to-know-rule."

"Then... why are you still calling him "Uncle?"

"You're still calling him Colonel."

"He's your father."

"As far as I'm concerned, we're still uncle and niece. I'll never forgive that womanizing piece of shit."

"Meryl!" Snake is pretty defensive for Colonel's sake as he is his closed friend and despite any animosity they may had during the Shadow Moses incident.

...Just then, a radio scanner suddenly flashed some light. Ed, the radioman and sniper of the squad, came over to it to examine it. "Commander!" He went over to Meryl.

"What is it?"

"There's 20 of them. And they're not from that PMC, Praying Mantis, either. It's the FROGS."

...From nearby...

...A bunch of soldiers with exoskeleton armors, all of them are females, are advancing to where the group is.

"Spread out! For Liquid Ocelot!"

"""For Liquid Ocelot!"""

...Back at the group...

"His private troops."

"Oh crap, this is not good." Meryl and Akiba are the first to react at Ed's report. Meryl turned to Snake.

"Were you being followed?"

"No, I don't think so. I mean... who knows?" Snake said with a hand gesture.

"Well, this is quite a surprise." A voice suddenly said to which everyone turn to the front direction of everyone's current location.

It's Drebin. He, along with Little Gray, is approaching the group with a piece of white cloth in his hand. The same greeting he had with Snake.

"Drebin. You." Snake said standing up from his chair.

"You know this guy?" Meryl asked as everyone else pointed their guns at him.

"D-Don't move!" Akiba said nervously.

"Whoa, hey, slow down pal." Drebin said touching the tip of Akiba's gun gently. "Hey there, we meet again." He turned to Snake and greeted him.

"You." Snake however, is not pleased. Otacon moved to Snake's side and deactivated the stealth camo.

"Who are you? Don't try anything funny on my watch or else you're..." Meryl said to Drebin while aiming her gun at him.

"Huh, now that's cold, babe. And here I was about to tell that your man..." Drebin extended his arm... then he pointed northwest from here.

"Huh?" Snake could see someone at the direction he's pointing... He activated the solid eye to see who it is.

There... he sees someone... someone familiar... a coat... a black suit and an undershirt... Someone wearing glasses... Ocelot... No, it's... Liquid Ocelot. From that time during the Tanker Incident, the hijacking of Ray... the Big Shell Incident.

"Liquid!" Snake said as he pulled out his gun but then... _taarcht! _"Huh?" ...He suddenly feels like that his body is being pressured from within. The nanomachines are becoming unstable again. It's what happens when one is using the syringe and when one is under the system control. _taarptch! tapprch! Taaprrch! _"Urrgh!"

"Snake! What's wrong?" Otacon came to his Snake's side.

"The Syringe! Use it!" Drebin said.

"Huh? Oh right," Otacon took the syringe that is among the gears of Snake and... _Tuck! _

"Gurgh!" And he used it on Snake but... "Guah, urgh, huh?" Jonathan, Ed and Meryl are starting to act weird. Ed is laughing. Jonathan is screaming. And Meryl is... crying. Akiba is the only who is not acting weird.

"H-Hey, guys! Jonathan! Ed! Commander!" Akiba tends to his squadmates.

"Gurgh, Liquid-!" Snake yelled from afar... and...

...At Liquid Ocelot's position...

"Hm?" He heard an echoing voice. Alongside him is... Naomi. Naomi Hunter. Someone who worked alongside Snake during the Shadow Moses Incident as one of the support teams and... a spy too. "Brother!" Liquid pointed at Snake from his position. "It's been too long!"

...Back at Snake...

"LIQUID-!"

End of Chapter 1


End file.
